BioDiesel... a real alternative?
 

Well I have to say that after doing some research to bash BioDiesel, I became somewhat of a convert. I just read an article that makes me ask is this too good to be true.

It's a long read, but worth it. Especially with gas prices going through the roof.

http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html

enjoy and comment.

Re: BioDiesel... a real alternative?
 

Three words: Biodiesel-electric hybrid.

Re: BioDiesel... a real alternative?
 

It all comes down to:

a) can B100 production be operated on 100% renewable energy?

b) can enough B100 ever be produced to meet the demands of the entire nation?

c) are people going to choose diesel engines in the US?

Hard to say for sure, but it's an interesting and promosing alternative fuel that will be part of the renewable energy lineup.

Re: BioDiesel... a real alternative?
 

I'd add......

d) what will it cost for after-treatment to get a biodiesel (hybrid or otherwise) to meet Tier II Bin 5 Emissions?

Some estimates are as high as $5,000 per vehicle, assuming government approval to include a urea conversion catalyst.
That is the primary reason North America is not being flooded with European spec modern common rail diesels that outperform gasoline engines and get fuel economy approaching gasoline electric hybrids.

Peace,

Martin

Re: BioDiesel... a real alternative?
 

Schwa, most of your questions would be answered by reading the link that was provided in the first post. It indicates that it would be very possible to meet the fuel needs of a nation even as large as the USA. Not without a significant investment, but it states it could be as cheap as "only" $46 billion a year compared to $100-150 billion already spent on oil imports.

As for Martin's question about emissions, most of the most harmful emissions aren't going to be present in biodiesel, they're usually from chemicals still left over in petrodiesel after refining. Those chemicals should not be present at all in biodiesel. Besides which, many people pan the Tier II Bin 5 emission standard as ridiculous and way overboard since currently we have NO mechanism for getting old vehicles off the road.

The emissions standard for 10-15 year old vehicles is no where near as stringent as current vehicles, yet if we really cared about emissions, we would just have to make it illegal to register a vehicle more than 10 years old. Until we reach that day, it's pointless to push our emissions standards any further than 2003 standards, basically, because that's already many times cleaner than all previous generations of vehicles.

Re: BioDiesel... a real alternative?
 

I've been trying to tell producers for more than a year about BioDiesel Hybrids and the fact that we can produce all the fuel we need from Algae grown around the Salton Sea.

If our politicans were not in the pocket of the oil industry, maybe they would get off their collective asses and do *SOMETHING*!

Re: BioDiesel... a real alternative?
 

One step the government could take to encourage the production of efficient bio-diesel algae crops is to operate a 'pool' where algae farmers can sell to and producers can buy from.

The reason I still think the amount of fuel needed is still a valid question is because nothing has really been proven yet, those figures look good on paper but it's based on uncharted territory.

Re: BioDiesel... a real alternative?
 

I've had this signature line for a while. Back in about 1998 I read "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank" -- a book written about two high school chemistry teachers that toured the country using nothing but used vegetable oil for fuel. I wanted to get a TDI and do that myself, but the titrations and the fact that it was theoretically possible to cause an explosion while making biodiesel discouraged me. But I live in the Dallas Ft. Worth area, where Willie Nelson brand Biodiesel is now available at several locations. I think it's only B20, though, I'm not sure.

Re: BioDiesel... a real alternative?
 

I'm rather curious about the SVO conversions myself because that eliminates the need to make bio-diesel out of the used cooking oil or whatever you can get. Seems to require new injectors and maybe some other components, but basically isn't very complicated to convert to.

Re: BioDiesel... a real alternative?
 

Thanks for reposting Mike Brigg's information. (Here is a different version of the information in PDF) It is a well written review regarding the potential of biodiesel. The current trend in biodiesel is indeed exciting. The demand is currently starting to out pace the supply and new plants are coming online at a quite pace. Even more exciting is the new chemistry that potentially can reduce cost and inprove both quality and yields. Not only are we seeing the fuels improve and the supply increase, but we'll begin to see a variety of new diesel cars come into the markets next year too. (primarily because of ULSD) This hopefully will provide an opportuntiy for some company to offer a diesel/hybrid and along with biodiesel blends and new emission technologies will finally make 'the more efficient' diesel engine a better choice when matching it to hybrid technology.

As was the "Six Million Dollar Man" slogan ... "we have the technology ...." :) Ok ... so I'm dating myself, hopefully there is some else that remembers Steve Austin! (Lee Majors)